🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <5m05g8$4vo$1@goanna.cs.rmit.edu.au>,
coburn@yallara.cs.rmit.edu.au wrote:

> Hi All,
> 
> I have a friend who has been doing a lot of work lately on Silicon
> Graphics machines. He's been producing models in SoftImage and 
> animating them (very cool mech stuff).
> 
> He's wanting to get "a machine" for home to do similar sorts of things.
> Naturally this should be a Mac but I need some guidance from those in
> the know.
> 
> He needs the following;
> 
> * The cheapest current mac that will output FULL SCREEN, FULL MOTION
> VIDEO in PAL format (via svhs or composite video out). This must be
> via a quicktime movie or any other movie format (basically something
> that a 3D modelling/animating program will output).
> 
> _or_
> 
> * A plug-in (PCI) board that allows the above. This would allow him
> to buy a cheaper PCI based machine and let the card do the work.
> 
> _also_
> 
> * A plug-in (PCI) board incorporating OpenGL/Quickdraw 3D support,
> possibly incoporating the above.
> 
> _and_
> 
> * A suite of packages to allow 3D modelling/animation. Something that
> will satisfy a guy used to SGI machines.
> 
> And all this on a budget. So please put your thinking caps on so I
> can present this guy with a creative solution.

A good entry level full frame, full motion s-video system would consist of a
cpu like the PowerMac 7300, PowerComputing PowerCenter or PowerCenter Pro
or Umax Pulsar SP.
The video systems on the AV macs is not good enough for full frame full
frame rate video so you need a pci card. Add a MiroMotion DC-20 or Quadrant
Qmotion (Truevision Bravado) card (these come with Adobe Premiere editing
software).  
They will probably need to add storage and an AV rated Hard Drive depending
on the amount of video and quality they wish to work with.
If they want a 3d package that compares favourably to SoftImage and 3DS Max
they should check out LightWave 3d for PowerMac.  
Electric Image is also an excellent high end 3d package.

Let me know if you need any further information.

Hillel

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